Google Faces Unprecedented Order to Hand Over Search Data to Rivals

Join the Aspen Policy Academy mailing list to learn more about us and our fellows (you’ll receive one email a week).

{"action":"swipe","clientId":"d86babba-dc52-40eb-9ec9-7dff058f458a","controls":["submits"],"property":"newsletter","recipients":"","receipts":"","rules":[],"subject":""}

{"type":"email","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Email Address","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"email_address","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"^[a-zA-Z0-9.]{2,}@[a-zA-Z0-9]{3,}\\.[A-Za-z]{2,}$","count":1}

Email Address

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"First Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"first_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

First Name

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Last Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"last_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Last Name

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"I want to learn how to change policy"},{"label":"I am a journalist"}],"title":"Focus","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["multiple"],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":967271516,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Focus

Description of field

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"Washington DC area"},{"label":"New York City area"},{"label":"San Francisco Bay area"},{"label":"Los Angeles area"},{"label":"I'm in another location"}],"title":"Select your location","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":899735027,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Select your location

Description of field

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox for our next weekly newsletter!

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"header","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"mobile","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

Google Faces Unprecedented Order to Hand Over Search Data to Rivals

Article Published September 21, 2025

This article originally appeared on TechSpot on September 21, 2025.

By Skye Jacobs

US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled earlier this month that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Instead of imposing the most extreme penalty, such as breaking up the company, he ordered Google to open some of its most valuable resources to competitors. Those resources include a one-time copy of Google’s search index as well as access to its user click-and-query data – the record of what people search for and which results they select.

Cybersecurity expert Betsy Cooper of the Aspen Institute called the redistribution of data “a surprise” for users who assumed it would remain with Google alone. “Data is the currency upon which this entire search ecosystem was created, and it’s the currency upon which Google built its wealth,” she said. “Now you’re seeing a redistribution of that currency to other competitors.”

Read the Full Article

{"abilities":[],"action":"swipe","className":"wide","columns":3,"controls":["arrows"],"exclude":[{"starter.postid":"28257"}],"filters":[],"include":[{"starter.termid":"120"},{"starter.termid":"231"}],"maximum":6,"meta":[],"property":"box","searching":"","sorts":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"sorting":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in","relevance"],"filtering":"","refiner":false,"total":50}

Aspen Policy Academy

Google Faces Unprecedented Order to Hand Over Search Data to Rivals

Browse Related Articles

In Pentagon-Anthropic standoff, AI is real-time testing the balance of power in future of warfare

How to Manage Misinformation in Large Language Models

The Spy Next Door: Are Smart Doorbells Building a Surveillance State?